Sneak Peek: The Aura H2O Edition 2 Launch

Posted by Fatuma Adar
May 19, 2017

Kobo’s latest edition to the family, the second edition Kobo Aura H2O, is the perfect companion as we venture into a new season of reading. It’s your summer, solved. The new device is equipped with many great new features like ComfortLight PRO, 8GB storage, but one of the coolest highlights is that this new device is the most waterproof e-reader you’ll ever own. That’s right, no qualms about taking your favourite books to the beach, bathtub or hotel pool, the new Kobo Aura H2O has got you covered.

We knew that the launch had to be as incredible as the device we were launching. How do we prove to book lovers that this is the real deal? Well, we make them go Into the Water. As serendipity would have it, Penguin Random House Canada was also gearing up for a big launch themselves. Paula Hawkins, author of the phenomenal hit TheGirl on the Train, was releasing her highly anticipated second novel, Into the Water. Our audience loves thrillers and our new device was waterproof—it was a match made in book heaven.

May 2nd was the big day. Guests walked into the Stirling Room, enjoyed some appetizers, drinks, and good company; on the surface it looked like a standard event. The room was filled with members of the media and publishing industry, who didn’t know what was in store for them that evening. After a few words from Penguin Random House President and Publisher, Kristin Cochrane, and Kobo CEO Michael Tamblyn, we invited our guests to go into the water to get their new Kobo Aura H2O.

Showing is always better than telling, but to give you some context for the video below, the Stirling Room had one key feature that we wanted to use: A prohibition-era tunnel. Step down to the basement, and beyond a heavy door is a tunnel, too dark to know where it takes you. Thankfully, as guests ventured in, their paths were illuminated by the light of devices guiding them. Inside, the air is damp, the sound of your shoes echo as you step over puddles, and at the end of the tunnel, in a glowing metal basin, were Kobo Aura H2Os submerged under water with Into the Water on the cover.

Spooky right? One thing you may have noticed is the eerie voice echoing throughout the tunnel, “Take a step closer to the water. Listen to my meandering, and you will be rewarded.” Projecting against the walls was a video we made to really capture the ambience of the book. A woman reads passages from Into the Water in a cadence that can send chills down your spine.

Our guests had a great time. Many said that this was a launch unlike anything they’d ever been to. Some were perplexed when told they could grab a device right from out of the basin, dry it off and take it home. We kept our promise. Come into the water, and you will be rewarded.

If you’d like more information about the new Kobo Aura H2O, check out the interview that Kobo CEO Michael Tamblyn did with author and high-tech journalist Marc Saltzman.

Even if you missed out on the event you don’t have to miss out on the must-have device and must-read book of the season. The Kobo Aura H2O is available for pre-order now, so get your summer sorted and start reading worry-free.